Existing chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems may sometimes receive substrates for processing that have relatively large debris particles stuck to the surface of the substrates. Frequently pre-CMP rinse systems are unable to effectively remove these larger particles and when the substrate is polished using a conventional CMP system, the particles can cause deep scratches in the surface of the substrates. To address this problem using a conventional CMP system, substrates are sometimes polished twice using different membrane pressures. This solution however, has the drawback of slowing down throughput. Thus, what is needed are methods and apparatus that enable removal of the large debris particles without slowing down CMP processing throughput.